About

 Karen Hethey is a professional multi-disciplinary puppetry artist, Director/Animateur, intercultural spectacle performance maker, dramaturge, facilitator, mentor and Community Cultural Development Consultant, based in Boorloo (Perth) on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja (Country), in Western Australia. 

​

Her passion is about making the impossible possible...and the power the arts has to create meaningful change through collaborative creative exchange processes that engage, share, connect, elevate and empower communities and artists to express the unique identities and rich cultural and ecological stories that are the heartbeat of this country.

​

Karen's unique immersive practice draws on a professional background in puppetry arts, performance making, spectacle puppetry, clown, street theatre, environmental art, intercultural community development, social justice and applied Anthropology. Over 3 decades she has collaborated with First Nations Elders, custodians, cultural leaders, artists, young people and diverse communities across remote, regional, and metropolitan Australia to realise their visions to create, present and voice their stories through dynamic puppetry performances, theatre and exhibitions for regional, national and international festivals and events. In partnership with and under the guidance of Elders and cultural leaders, Karen walks side by side with participants on an immersive  creative and artistic journey starting from the seeds of the vision, to the project co-design, to the gathering of stories, through the hands on designing and making process, to learning the skills of puppeteering and devising through to the final performance experience and celebration.

​

"People often ask  me "what do you do?" and I reply "Well I call myself an Animateur." Then they ask "What is an Animateur?"Well Animate means something possessing or characterised by life. Put very simply an Animateur is someone who animates, who brings something to life. But also, someone who works across diverse spaces to bring together people, values and ideas to create, to bring to life something unexpected and unique. It means listening deeply to people, places and spaces. To become aware of rhythms, movement, presence, subtle nuance. To feel, to sense, what is resonant and relevant for that place, that time, the people, the community.  Puppetry is an extraordinary artform, it is the art of animating, of bringing puppets to life. There is something magical, something alchemical in the creative journey especially in the creation of larger than life giants of spectacle. Every hand, every twist of wire, bend of cane, connects hearts, connects people to each other, to story, to emotions, to the land itself and the spirit of place. Embedded in the artworks is a part of everyone who has contributed. The creative journey becomes a space of sharing, exchange, understanding, tears, laughter, challenge and growth. It is our breath, our hands, our hearts that breathe life into the puppets. We hold the puppets, the puppets hold our stories and the stories hold us, in honour and celebration. The ordinary becomes the profoundly extraordinary...." Karen